(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an extract of mixed herb medicine, and a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and the treatment of obesity containing the extract as an effective ingredient or health food containing the same, more precisely, an extract of mixed herb medicine extracted from the mixture of cassia seeds (Cassia obtusifolia L.), green tea (Thea sinensis L.), eucommia bark (Eucommia ulmoides Oliver), garlic (Allium sativum var. pekinense), hawthorn (Crataegus Pinnatifida Bunge), fresh pine needle (Pinus densiflora Siebold et Zuccarini) and wormwood (Artemisia capillaris Thunberg) using water or aqueous alcohol solution, a pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and the treatment of obesity containing the above extract and a fermented extract extracted after adding rice, malt and yeast to the above mixture, or health food containing the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
The surplus of calorie intake is converted into fat, which is accumulated in many regions of a body especially in hypodermic tissues and in abdominal cavity, causing obesity. Triglyceride is a compound chemically produced by ester bond between glycerine and three molecules of fatty acid. As a neutral fat synthesized from carbohydrate, triglyceride is stored in adipose tissues of an animal, and releases free fatty acids in blood when it is hydrolyzed by a specific enzyme. Triglyceride stored in adipose tissues is decomposed into nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) and glycerol to be released in blood when an energy source glucose is insufficient. After being used as a substitute energy source, the surplus of nonesterified fatty acid is converted into triglyceride in the liver again. Triglyceride flowing through blood is called endogenous neutral fat. The high accumulation of triglyceride in the adipose tissue closely relates to artherosclerosis, coronary artery diseases, etc.
Obesity means the more accumulation of fat than that required in a body. Thus, a patient with obesity suffers from disorders by biochemical and physiological malfunctions in a body. Obesity is not only a major cause of various diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hyperlipemia, hypertension, coronary artery disease and joint disease, but also is an obstacle to normal social activities.
To alleviate suffering from obesity, efforts have been made to develop weight reducers, appetite inhibitors or fat absorption inhibitors, etc. Recently, products for not only the prevention and treatment of obesity but also the weight control to have a nice appearance are under development. However, there are a variety of problems about such products unfortunately. For example, a diuretic and a laxative, which are commercially obtainable at low prices, might reduce body weight but the weight loss effect is temporary only by reducing moisture in a body, which is far from eliminating the cause of obesity, such as surplus fat. Moreover, overuse of those medicines can even cause dehydration and abnormal heartbeat by the loss of electrolytes. The habitual dosage of those medicines causes side effects such as edema or constipation by lowering the function of excretion. And diet products using an anorexigenic agent for weight control can induce side effects such as hypertension caused by nerve excitation, abdominal pain, hypersensitivity, insomnia, dizziness, etc. Besides, long term administration of a fibrous product, as one of popular diet products, can cause malnutrition because a fibrous product is produced not for losing weight but simply for satiety.
Even after all the hard work to develop a medicine for the prevention and treatment of obesity, a successful result is not in our hands, yet.
Thus, the present inventors have made extensive effort to develop, by using safe food, an effective composition inhibiting obesity without side effects. As a result, the present inventors have completed this invention by developing a novel herb extract having an excellent effect on the treatment of obesity inhibiting effect without such side effects as conventional drugs have.